A Promise Made
by Quadrantje
Summary: Merlin managed to save Uther's life in episode 4x03. But what will happen when the time comes for Arthur to fulfill his promise that those who practice magic will no longer have to live in fear?
1. Prologue

A/N: Wow, it has been ages since I've written - and especially published - anything!

Disclaimer: Merlin, Arthur and the rest of them belong to mythology and so to no-one. These particular incarnations belong to BBC. Certainly none of them belong to me.

**A Promise Made**

As Merlin let four drops of the elixir fall down into Uther's mouth, he noticed something, a flickering of the light that should not be there. When he looked down he saw that the candlelight was reflected by a charm around Uther's neck. 'Wait', he said, in his old man's voice, 'What is this?' When Arthur shrugged Merlin knew for certain that the necklace did not belong and carefully removed it from around Uther's neck. And like that, Morgana's plan was thwarted and Uther's life saved. And the future of Camelot was altered forever.

Uther lived, and though the fire of his spirit had been rekindled somewhat by his love for Arthur, it was never restored completely and he never reclaimed the throne. The king in him had died when Morgana betrayed him, but in this way he had two more years of life to be a father to Arthur. Finally though it was his time and no medicine, whether magical or not, could prolong his life any further. He died and Arthur was properly crowned king. And the moment arrived when he would need to honour his promise…

Merlin stood in the council chamber, behind the chairs of the councilmen, by the pillars, almost obscured by them. In the shadows. Watching Arthur rule. As he saw his friend and king confer with his councilmen he was conflicted, tormented by indecision, as he had been the past three days since Arthur's coronation. And the seven days before that, since Uther's death. A part of him wanted to remind Arthur of his promise two years ago, that those who practiced magic would have no more need to fear. Remind Arthur that he had promised to revoke the ban on magic. For him, it would mean the freedom to finally show who he truly was and he wanted that freedom desperately. These last few days he had learned to suppress the very thought of that freedom for that thought alone was enough to cause in him a longing so strong it cut his heart and stole his breath. On the other side was his hope that Arthur would do the right thing on his own, that he would need no prompting, and this thought was even sweeter. And as his hope was joined by his fear, the instinct to wait usually won out, though but narrowly and for no more than a few minutes at a time before the battle raged again. But still it won, and Merlin remained silent. Merely watching.

_**To Be Continued**_


	2. Chapter One

A/N: Almost as many hits as words, wow. And thanks to those who left a review!

**A Promise Made: Chapter One**

After Arthur's coronation, it took eleven days for the furore to die down enough that Arthur could once again join a normal patrol. It was high time for it too, because the young king had been bouncing off the walls with pent-up energy and the flimsiest excuse was enough to entice him out of the castle. Apparently there had been a disturbance in the forest, though Merlin doubted the authenticity of the report. In all honesty he suspected one of the servants to have thought up the story to get the wired king out of the way for a while. Frankly, if he'd thought of it, he would have started the story himself, because Arthur was getting on his nerves terribly. He was anxious to prove his worth to his people, but so far had only been able to do so by micromanaging everything within the castle walls. Merlin had never had so many 'helpful' tips on how to properly clean clothes, polish boots and anything else Arthur decided fell within his job discription. He was about this close to snapping at Arthur to do it himself, seeing as he is such an expert at it. All in all, serious mayhem was thankfully avoided by the disturbance-in-the-woods story. And so Arthur rode out for the first time as king amidst great cheering. And of course Merlin, as always, went with him.

They had travelled through the trees for a few hours already, with no sign of the bandits that had been reported, and the group was about ready to turn back to Camelot. Arthur had finally used up his excess energy and was now sitting rather tired in his sadle, for the first time in days spent from a day of work. Even Gwaine had run out of topics of conversation and had ceased his normally endless yammering for two whole minutes now, which all knew was a sign that they really should turn back. Arthur called the men to a halt, ready to announce just that, when all of a sudden, right at that moment, men appeared all around them, coming out of their hiding places from behind bushes and trees, and ran at them with swords raised, lustily shouting battle cries. The knights quickly drew their blades and formed a group around Arthur, who rose up, his earlier fatigue forgotten. The knights of Camelot fought valiantly and had the obvious advantage on horseback and so it was not long before the fervour of the attackers died and they turned tail and fled. The knights cheered and thronged together again, congratulating each other on a battle well-fought.

Sometime during the battle – even he could no longer remember when or why – Arthur had dismounted from his horse and fought on foot. At the same time he had drifted slightly away from the group, though no more than a few meters. It had gone by unnoticed; Merlin alone had seen. But a distance that had seemed like nothing then suddenly became perilous when Morgana skulked out from behind the trees closest to Arthur, looking as immaculate as if she'd just alighted from a comfortable throne and laughing gleefully.

'The great king Arthur, lost in the woods?' she taunted. The knights, upon hearing her voice, quickly turned to the two siblings and tried to rush to them. However they where stopped by Morgana, who, without breaking stride, raised her arms and shot magic fire from her palms, which created an impenetrable ring around herself and Arthur, cutting the two of them off from the others. Again her laugh rang out. 'Scared brother?' she sneered haughtily.

'Of you?' Arthur asked while once more drawing his sword. 'Never!' he replied bravely.

Morgana, who had been prowling towards him like a giant cat towards its prey stopped in her tracks and pouted. 'Oh, am I supposed to be afraid of your big bad sword?' she simpered, before her evil smirk returned. 'A sword is no match for me, _brother_!' And with a flick of her hand she uprooted a nearby tree and let it fall at Arthur. He could only just jump out of its course as it crashed to the ground. Where the tree intersected with the ring of fire it immediately caught fire, which spread to the rest of the tree within seconds. It burned brighter than it should be able to, almost blue in colour, and as all watched in terror the entire tree was incinerated in no more than a minute. Morgana laughed uproariously. 'No one can save you now, Arthur!'

While Morgana had been circling around Arthur, Merlin had crept closer until he was just on the edge of the ring of fire, partly concealed in the shadow of a large tree. He was desperately trying to think of a way to unobtrusively use his magic to help Arthur, but could think of nothing. And as Morgana raised her hand again, no doubt to deal Arthur some kind of horrific blow, Merlin realised that there was no way to help Arthur and still keep his secret. And more importantly, there was no need for it. This was the time to call upon Arthur's promise. This is where his secret ended.

'Think again, Morgana!' he shouted, his voice steeled with a determination it usually lacked, as he stepped forward. Morgana, recognizing him, laughed even louder.

'Merlin?' she gasped out amidst sniggers, and was about to dismiss his action loudly when Merlin stepped through her enchanted fire, apparently without even feeling the flames. The momentary golden glint of his eyes was made more apparent because the flames reflected in it ominously. Immediately her laughter stopped as her eyes widened in fear and her entire body froze. 'Emrys?' she whispered in alarm. A telling smile and a small inclination of his head were all the answer she received.

Arthur, meanwhile, was too busy shooing Merlin away to really acknowledge what had happened. Merlin didn't know whether he had not yet processed the information or whether he truly hadn't noticed his magic, but whichever option, he knew Arthur would have to realise soon enough.

'Step aside, Arthur,' Merlin said with authority in his voice. Arthur protested, but Merlin paid him no heed. 'I said, step aside,' he repeated and with a grand sweep of his arm he threw Arthur backwards, out of the ring and into safety, where he landed ungracefully – though not harshly – on his backside. Speechless, the king crawled to his feet and looked at his servant with astonishment. Merlin tried to ignore him, but a small part of his mind at that moment began to fret. There was no way back now.

Morgana, in the interim, had tried to banish her fear and had turned it into a smouldering hatred instead. '_You_', she hissed at Merlin, as venomous as a snake. 'You have been foiling my plans!'

Merlin grinned his well-known boyish grin, but with that hint of power still in his eyes it lent him a command none of the others had ever noticed in him before. 'It's been my pleasure, Morgana,' he said.

The taunt brought Morgana's smouldering hatred to a boil and with a vicious and almost deranged look in her eyes she shouted some words in the ancient language and hurled more flames at Merlin. But Merlin had only to whisper an answer and the flames fell from the air as ashes, harmless. Morgana tried again by sending vines his way, to whip around Merlin and tie him up. However, these too Merlin just brushed away with a flick of his hand and a word or two. Morgana, now completely enraged, her eyes dark lakes of hatred, forced trees out of the ground all around them and threw them at random, making the knights duck and gasp. Merlin, with one hand, froze them in mid-air and piled them neatly by their side. Arthur vaguely wondered how he could pile entire trees with magic as neatly as could be but always managed to make an absolute shambles of the fire in his hearth. The stray thought was almost enough to reduce him to nervous giggles, but thankfully he managed to restrain this unkingly display and content himself with merely continuing to look dumb-struck.

'Is that the best you can do, Morgana?' Merlin asked, in a voice so calm and almost cheerful it startled the knights. Morgana had finally reigned in her anger and was now looking at Merlin with a calculating look that made him pay attention to stop whatever evil scheme she was hatching.

A little evil laugh and a shout were all the warning he had. 'Lets see if you can stop this, Merlin!' And she sent out a bolt of the powerful flames, not at Merlin but at Arthur. Merlin quickly turned and summoned his magic, only just in time to stop Arthur from getting roasted. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned back, only to see that Morgana had vanished. He quickly spun around, to make sure she wasn't attacking him from behind, but there was no sign of the sorceress. She had gone, simply vanished. As suddenly as she had appeared. Leaving with nothing but the knowledge of Merlin's true identity. Only the ring of fire and the astonishment on the faces of Arthur and the knights were left as proof that she had really been there. And turned Merlin's life upside down.

_**To Be Continued**_


End file.
